How do I
use the functions?

Using CC-Excel's functions is no different from using any of Microsoft
Excel's built in functions. You can enter them in your own workbooks, which can be
as simple or as complicated as you have the time and imagination to develop!

Excel
Functions begin with an equals sign (=) followed by the function's name and its arguments.
Functions perform particular calculations on the arguments, which are enclosed
inside round brackets following the function name. The arguments can be numbers or
references to other cells.

With CC-Excel, the functions perform call centre calculations. For example, a
cell with this function:

=CCXLAgents(1050,250,10)

will display the result 81, which means that 81 agents are estimated to be required to
answer 1050 calls per hour of duration 250 seconds, where the average speed of answering
the calls is 10 seconds.

Estimates the number of telephone lines that are required to
handle the inbound calls into a centre.

Do you
include an example workbook?

An example workbook is installed with CC-Excel and available from the
Start Menu. It has two areas:

The Calculators worksheet shows calculators
for each of CC-Excel's functions. You can use them as a regular tool within the
workbook, or treat them as examples of how to create your own tools.

The Ansapoint worksheet demonstrates how you can use the
functions to build more complicated tables for estimating many aspects of a call center's
operation. The format emulates Ansapoint,
our Windows workforce management product.

How are
the results reached?

The results produced by CC-Excel are reached using the Erlang traffic
models. These were developed in the first half of the twentieth century to model the
performance of telecommunications systems.

Are the
results accurate?

Our experience is that the models are accurate, but the Erlang C traffic
model makes the following assumptions:

 Calls are
offered randomly to a queue (Poisson arrivals).

 Users wait if they find the system busy.

 Service times are exponential.

 Users are served in the order of arrival.

 Users are directed to the first available
server (agent).

 Queue sizes are unlimited.

30
minute intervals

CC-Excel's call center functions assume that call volumes are based on the number of
call handled during a one hour period. In some cases, call volumes for only thirty
minutes are available. Before these are applied as an argument to a CC-Excel function,
these numbers must be doubled to convert them to hourly figures.

For example, consider
the following use of the CCXLAgents() function:

=CCXLAgents( B2 , 180 , 80 , 20 )

which would be used to estimate the number of agents required such that 80% of calls
were answered within 20 seconds. The function assumes that the number of calls
specified in cell B2 relates to a period of one hour. If cell B2 contained a thirty
minute call volume, then the value should be double, like this:

=CCXLAgents( B2 * 2 , 180 , 80 , 20 )

The CCXLCalls() function returns an estimate of
the number of calls that an inbound call centre can handle in one hour. If a figure
for thirty minutes is required, then the function result should be halved.

Similarly, if fifteen minute analytical intervals are to be used, function arguments
should be multiplied by four and function results should be divided by four.

What
service level targets can I specify?

There are three CC-Excel functions in which a service level target is
specified: CCXLAgents(), CCXLCalls() and CCXLDuration(). There are two formats in which
you can specify the operating targets for your call centre:

The percentage of calls answered in x seconds

The average speed in which all calls are answered

These three functions support both forms of service level targets. If four arguments
are provided with a function, then the first format is assumed. The third argument should
be the percentage value and the fourth argument should be the "answered in"
value. If the are only three arguments, then the final argument will be the average speed
in which calls are answered (ASA).

CC-Excel
and Erlang for Excel compared?

We created Erlang for Excel
in 1999 and continue to sell updated versions of it today. Erlang for Excel is an
Excel add-in that provides functions for Erlang B, Extended Erlang B and Erlang C.
It includes two call centre functions (ErlCAgents and ErlCalls). The remaining six
functions relate to telecommunications network design.

By contrast, CC-Excel is a
specialist product for Call Center management and includes nine functions for calculating
many aspects of contact center performance. We have also introduced two formats for
specifying the service level targets for three of the functions (see previous section).

What is
included with CC-Excel?

A staffing table for estimating call centre staffing
requirements and performance in an Excel worksheet

Full user guide and function reference in PDF and Windows
Help formats

What are
the operational limits?

The limits for parameter values vary depending on the
function being used, but most functions have the limits shown in the table below.
There can also be upper limits on the results. If a calculation is out of range,
then the result cell will show #NUM!

Can I
share workbooks with my colleagues?

The calculations behind Excel add-ins are not transportable within
workbooks. Only a reference to the functions' names are embedded within workbooks and the
calculations themselves are resolved using coding that is integrated within an Excel
installation. This means that any person wishing to make use of the workbooks you create
must also have CC-Excel installed locally on their computer.

Do you
sell source code or DLLs?

No.

Will I be
able to install on my laptop?

If you purchase the software when you are using your
desktop computer, then you may transfer the installation file to your laptop computer and
install it there. However, you may not install on both computers if you are only
covered by one single user licence; you will need to buy two licences.